This invention relates to a method and apparatus for gaining access to a system having controlled access thereto, and the specific embodiment selected to portray the invention relates to a financial, self-service center or system in which the use of identification cards and personal identification numbers is required by users of the system to gain access to financial machines like cash dispensing machines, for example, associated with the system.
One of the problems associated with some of the prior art systems of the type mentioned, is that each of the financial machines to which a user wishes access requires a card reader such as a magnetic card reader to read the user's personal magnetic identification card when that card is inserted into the machine. With each of the financial machines requiring a magnetic card reader, for example, duplication of costly card readers results. This is especially so when recent system trends are considered, trends in which clusters of banking machines having different functions are available at a location to users of the system.
Another problem with such prior art systems is that the use of magnetic identification cards is generally time-consuming when considering the necessary instructions offered to users informing them how, when, and where to enter or process the card.